JMuskovitz

Yes, the spinny disk is a huge downer. (I have the non-touch version with 12gb of ram.) I solved this with a 500GB Samsung SSD, and am using the spinny disk for holding backups, streaming music, and other low speed stuff. It's MUCH zippier with an SSD, and boots in just a few seconds now.

I will second the notion that the keyboard feels a little off, but I am learning to live with it. It is a very quiet machine. I use mine as a desktop replacement, so I can't speak to the hinge issue.

I got mine from Amazon warehouse deals a few months back for about $200 more (but with a full warranty). Overall, I like it.

2skyrunner2

Yes, the spinny disk is a huge downer. (I have the non-touch version with 12gb of ram.) I solved this with a 500GB Samsung SSD, and am using the spinny disk for holding backups, streaming music, and other low speed stuff. It's MUCH zippier with an SSD, and boots in just a few seconds now.

I would like to do this as well, but am confused after looking at the product info and some other sites as to what I actually need. Could someone link a drive that would work and a cradle for it to fit in (if indeed one is needed as some websites say)?

Thanks in advance

P.S. I bought this laptop the last time Woot had it as well. It's a solid machine. Very satisfied with it.

patric9956

I owned a variant of this machine - it is a very nice laptop - but it is not one that you want to lug around if you travel often, especially, with the power brick this is one hefty device. I opted to go with a ultra-notebook and sold this one off, although aside from the weight, I really did enjoy this machine.

jzydek

Oh sure, the hp laptops are all so exciting and wonderful, until just after the warranty wears off and you need a new hard drive and a new wireless card, and then even after you get those replaced, it won't stay online, and you have to tip it sideways to get it to go to a website. LOL.....guess who that happened to. I'm posting from my Macbook Pro.

dbodden

timmalia wrote:How could I retain the disk image but move immediately to an SSD? I don't want to lose windows or any unique apps from hp by starting fresh.

HP laptops come with DVDs that allow you to reinstall the OS, drivers, and applications.

I recommend you simply buy an SSD, install it in place of the old hard drive, and then use the OS recovery disk. This will guide you through the reinstallation to the new SSD, and you'll have a remarkably snappy system.

You may want to consider NOT installing the HP bloatware; I'm not a big fan of OEM software add-ons.

chocomagic

shioda888

Bought this last time on sale. Hard drive failed after 80 days. Replacement sent under warranty, but could not do a system restore with the provided discs and had to send the whole thing back. Fortunately under warranty. I won't buy an HP again. The ones I have bought always seem to run hot, and batteries fail shortly after warranty expires.

ttweed

dbodden wrote:HP laptops come with DVDs that allow you to reinstall the OS, drivers, and applications.

Just a slight clarification--you must generate the recovery media yourself, either on four DVDs or a 32GB USB drive, when you receive the laptop. They do not "come with" the package. There is an HP Recovery Media Creation utility program installed that allows you to make one set of recovery media from the recovery partition on the hard drive.

korney19

jzydek wrote:Oh sure, the hp laptops are all so exciting and wonderful, until just after the warranty wears off and you need a new hard drive and a new wireless card, and then even after you get those replaced, it won't stay online, and you have to tip it sideways to get it to go to a website. LOL.....guess who that happened to. I'm posting from my Macbook Pro.

I think a 3-year 3-day Onsite Warranty from HP for ~$150 is cheaper than a MacBook Pro... ALL HP warranties go thru phone support first, then parts mailouts if easily replaceable, before you have to send it back anyways, so the warranties available differ in length or minor coverage differences, so I went for 3 years. There's also a 2-year w/accidental coverage for the same price, and a "Pick Up & Return" 2-year warranty that's even less.

I have a slightly different version, the one with 1080p, 4700MQ quad-core processor, 12GB RAM, 1TB HDD, and 2x2/AC WiFi, Touchscreen, Backlit Keyboard, etc., and then I bought a genuine HP 8GB module for around $60 to replace the 4GB module, to get me to 16GB total.

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